I’ve been desperate to create good looking cartoons using Adobe Illustrator.  I’ve known the basics of the programme for quite a while but up until now, I’ve been too lazy to spend the time researching how to use it to its full advantage (and I doubt I will do more than just scratch the surface).

Most of my cartoons are drawn by hand, scanned into the computer, then coloured in Photoshop using a Wacom tablet.  My hand is a little unsteady at times and Illustrator is the perfect tool for creating smooth lines and a professional look.  But, I’ve really struggled to find a way to easily create shadows without a lot of faffing about.

Today I spent some time sketching some old people in my sketchpad, before deciding to experiment with Illustrator (with a little help from YouTube).   I came across this little gem, The Ultimate Inking and Colouring Tutorial.    There are some really neat little tricks to help with shading and highlighting, it really speeds up the process and I LOVE IT!  (I’m sure you seasoned artists are chuckling to yourselves…I’m slow off the mark).

So here are three practice attempts – I’ve still got a lot to learn.  The first one was before the tutorial – it was painstakingly slow.  The second two were after I’d watched it several times.